Due to a guilty conscience, Elsa decides to adopt a child, a 7-year-old girl named Freja. She knows this young girl holds the key to a troubling new world—parenthood. {Post-Frozen; Motherly Elsa; Currently on Hiatus}

A/N: New story! Uh, backstory on this idea? I just thought of it today, playing with my little brother. Plus, I was wondering what would happen if Elsa had a daughter. Weird, huh?

So, I'll try to update as soon as I can, I swear! I just get busy sometimes if I don't have things prepared ahead of time.

Disclaimer: Disney owns Frozen.

~ Prologue ~

A month ago, Elsa would have been a wild, nervous wreck. Untamed, raging emotions would have whirled through her, engulfing her in fear and worry, letting darkness cloud her head and control her. Her power would have been all over the place, the whole hall in ice and snow, freezing all its inhabitants except her.

But right now, a simple morning wasn't much to fret about... yet.

Elsa sat in the palace library, seated in the front of a long, square, mahogany table, her hands folded on her lap. Since the thawing of Arendelle, she had been on-edge about what some of her subjects might have thought of her as a ruler. She thought some may have seemed hypocritical of a queen who froze the land in eternal winter and had abilities beyond her own knowledge. She knew others were simply glad to have a figure of leadership again, after the travesty of the death of the former king and queen. She knew she couldn't win the people over so easy, so she had to become patient and see what her reign had in store for her.

Something that didn't bother her was that she finally had access to her sister again after a long period of isolation and loneliness. Anna, of course, was jubilant to have her elder sister back in her life, and cherished every moment she had with her, as did Elsa... but what flurried the queen's emotions was her younger sister's relationship with her mountain lover, Kristoff.

Elsa knew she was in debt to Kristoff, for both protecting her sister and the kingdom along their journey to help her, but it was the way they were so intimate that made her wince. She was Anna's only parental figure, but she wasn't sure when to put her foot down. Or could it be that Elsa yearned for a love of her own?

Nah...

A knock echoed through the room. Speaking of Anna, she stood by the library doors, looking awfully smug. A wide smirk played on her lips and her arms folded tightly against her chest.

"Are you ready?" She almost exclaimed the words, but Elsa could understand why she was so excited. Today, the two of they were paying homage to the orphanage in town, since the owner, Johanna Hagen, had said the children were ever so eager to meet their queen and princess. Maybe the children just wanted to poke around with Elsa's powers.

"Yes. Let's go."

Elsa got up with those words and followed her eccentric sister down the stairs hastily. In the foyer, a band of six guards were waiting. The eight of them proceeded outside into the warmth of the July sunlight. Since the orphanage wasn't too far away, they walked on foot in the sun.

Anna, who appeared buoyant as always, looked like she and no problem with the heat.

Elsa, on the other hand, was practically dying under the hot sun, even with a parasol. It was out of her nature. She enjoyed the chill of winter, and rather have been catching pneumonia than heatstroke. The five-minute walk seemed like a journey through the desert for her, and she couldn't wait for it to finish.

The guards, which barricaded them in a box halted. Elsa looked up to see the brick building, its sign dull and darkened, the windows of all five floors tainted, and not a single speck of happiness anywhere. She squeezed through the gap in the two guards in the front, about to knock, but the old wooden door swung open.

A short, middle-aged woman with dark auburn hair tied up in a knot, waves of wrinkles on her face, bleary brown eyes, and bony hands greeted her with a smile and a curtsey.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness." she said, her eyes flickering between Elsa and Anna. "It's an honor to see that you accepted my invitation."

"The pleasure is all ours," said Elsa, smiling as brightly as she could in the tedious sun. "Miss Hagen, I presume?"

"Yes." Johanna's eyes widened. "Goodness, you look aghast out here! Please do come in." She glided to the side as the guards filed in. Elsa looped her arm with Anna and they came in the place, the smell of hazelnut welcoming them.

The inside was far more cheery than the outside. The walls had paints of different colors—blue, red, green, yellow, and purple—and dark blue ribbons steamed on them. Books stacked on tall bookshelves, crayons scattered on the floors, and papers as well. Children, small and tall, were playing with each other with dolls and stick figures and balls. As if planned, all of them rose up. The girls curtseyed and the boys bowed to grace both the queen and her younger sister.

"Such polite children." Elsa commented to Johanna.

"Well, they know how to best address royalty, Your Majesty." Johanna said, her hands clasped together. She made her way towards the children, a total of thirty-three in the room alone. "Now, all of you treat the queen and princess with chivalry, understood?"

"Yes, Miss Hagen." they said as one.

The woman turned back to them. "I'll be up in my office, if you need me." She curtsied again, then dashed off up the creaky steps.

When a door shut upstairs, the children beamed with conversation, throwing questions at mainly Elsa. A few girls stole Anna away to play dolls with them, and by the looks of it, she didn't mind at all. Elsa knelt down to hear their questions.

"Is is true, Queen Elsa? Do you have icy powers?" a boy asked excitedly.

"Can you freeze anything?"

"Can you make it snow in here? Please?"

"I want to make a snowman!"

Elsa laughed, admiring the curiosity of the children. She answered a few simple questions, made a few snowflakes dance around for fun, and colored with the children, feeling more in-touch with them than the adults of her kingdom, since their minds were so creative and oblivious.

Hours must have passed until Elsa noticed the one girl in the corner. This girl watched the others play, her beautiful sapphire full of sadness and desperation. A frown twitched on her thin lips. Her blonde hair was held back in a bun, a row of bangs covering her forehead. Her outfit was modest—a purple dress with a lavender blouse. For one moment, she met eyes with Elsa, and a chill ran through her. This girl reminded her of her younger self.

"Don't bother with Freja, Your Majesty," a boy named John scowled. "She likes to be alone. She doesn't play with anyone."

"She's so stupid," a girl named Rebecka laughed. "All she does is whimper and sob like a little puppy."

Elsa's face hardened as the children made fun of this poor girl. It was terrible that even in a place where you'd think children would stand as one really alienated one of their own. She ignored the scornful children and beckoned Anna over. The room fell silent as the two made their way to Freja.

Freja's eyes stared at the two. She backed up cautiously, looking as if on the verge of tears. She stammered, then curtseyed.

"Y-Y-Your Majesty." she sputtered nervously. "Princess."

Elsa smiled and nudged Anna, knowing she was good with children. Anna came closer to the girl, touching her pale arm in comfort.

"The other kids... they– they don't play with me. They never do. They're horrible. They leave me alone, pretending I don't exist. All I want is– is a friend. Someone who'll be nice to me and love me." Her blue eyes dripped of tears as a field of scornful whispers sounded off in the background.

Elsa and Anna shared a glance. Both of them well knew of the feeling of loneliness and abandonment. What made things worse was that this girl didn't have a mother or father to comfort her in her time of need. Just the thin, dirty blue blanket in her hand.

"I'll play with you," Anna suggested. She perked up and poked Freja in her belly. She tickled her, and she burst out in laughter. She dropped to the floor laughing. Anna laughed along with her. Elsa watched in admiration. She would join in, too, but she feared she might freeze poor little Freja. Instead, she thought of a different act of kindness at mind. But she didn't know if she was ready for it.

You can't just leave her here, her mind said.

"I'll be right back." she told the hysterical two.

Two guards followed her upstairs to Johanna's office. The woman looked frightened at the stern look on Elsa's face.

"May I help you, my queen?" she asked shakily.

"Yes." Elsa answered, taking a seat on the edge of a wooden chair. She fought her inner dark thoughts about the downsides of the statement she was about to make. She held her breath, ready to confirm it. "I would like to adopt Freja Hansen."

Kisses! ~TwistedTelepath

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